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Re: (Harvester)

Hello Michael;
That was absolutely splendidly delightful!! After listening through twice, I thought, is this the first of your music I have heard? I nearly broke out into a cold sweat! So I ran back through all your posts since the beginning of my membership here, I did not find where you had posted any of your music since July 11/09, (I sure hope I am correct!!) Why?
Because I have been gently blown away by your style; happy , relaxed inventiveness of yet a very intricate nature, subtle, expressive and so very sensitive in statement. You write in what I, at least, call the "American Style" of classical music, joining others like Aaron Copeland. But your style is unique, I find it lighthearted, here anyway, and it makes for a very, very good listen!!
Also I see you have a nice webpage and I will be nosing around for sure, perhaps this is the 'Dr." - side of your personality, egad!!
Just wonderful writing Michael, thank you very much for posting it!!
Best regards,sd cisco

Re: (Harvester)

Well now! This is far Far too rare an event - Music from you here in our Listening Room, Michael.

This is spectacularly whimsical, warm, playful, thoughtful, and so well capturing what your text intro said about the child anticipating and then finally enjoying the snow.

Something so successfully engaging and entertaining can only be achieved by honestly reaching into one's sense memories and genuinely recalling the circumstances and feelings involved. I am so happy to have heard this, and to have become the child myself as I listened. I admire your work here tremendously.

Dan's tech note about the panning is worth noting. It's not as if everything was panned hard left and right, but the 1st strings were particularly too far left, out of balance with the rest of the fine mix.

This is a great example of the legendary GOS - ! What libraries are the other instruments from?--I recall you don't own GPO, so it would be instructional for visitors to know what non-Garritan Libraries were used.

Directly from my heart, Michael - I embrace you and this masterful work you've played for us

Re: (Harvester)

Always such a treat when you post something. In fact I feel like that child when I come to the listening room expecting to see something you've posted, only to be disappointed but finally something arrives.

Re: (Harvester)

Hi Michael,
I am very glad I did not hurt your feelings with my comment.
When we pan instruments, it always has to be done while listening to the reverb because reverb kinda mushes things together somewhat, but that depends on the type of reverb we use.

I used to have a bad habit if spreading woodwinds all over the place, but ultimately, they are usually close to center.

Another bad thing that happens when we pan string sections, is if we pan them too far to one side, we loose the instruments that were closer to the opposite mic. Since string sections are recorded in stereo, if we pan hard left, we miss all the violins that were on the right channel mic.

Anyway, if you can go back to the mixer, whether it be Kontakt or Aria, set the pan much closer to center and you will find a much fuller sound. Also, in doing so, attention won't be directed to an instrument that is playing all by itself.... over there>>> like cellos, basses, violins etc.

Re: (Harvester)

Originally Posted by DPDAN

Another bad thing that happens when we pan string sections, is if we pan them too far to one side, we loose the instruments that were closer to the opposite mic. Since string sections are recorded in stereo, if we pan hard left, we miss all the violins that were on the right channel mic.

Anyway, if you can go back to the mixer, whether it be Kontakt or Aria, set the pan much closer to center and you will find a much fuller sound. Also, in doing so, attention won't be directed to an instrument that is playing all by itself.... over there>>> like cellos, basses, violins etc.

This is great info Dan. A while back I posted a piece here and you made a similar comment to me. I didn't really do anything about it yet because I didn't know what to do, but this certainly helps.

The reason I bring it up is I know Michael and I both use notation software as the playback for our renderings. I believe Michael uses Overture and I use Finale, but I'm wondering if notation programs use different panning laws than a DAW. I know for my pieces I have things panned all over thinking I'm representing standard orchestral placement as I'm sure Michael has done. The string comment however makes total sense to me and I'll implement that advice in the future.

Re: (Harvester)

Good sub-topic on panning - Here's a note: In the Aria player, 1st Strings default to a panning of 11 o'clock, if we think of the pan knob as going from 7 o'clock to 5. That can seem awfully close to center, but it's a good default panning position which keeps the strings appropriately close and sounding full on the stage.

Another note is that checking a mix on headphones can be helpful since phones exaggerate the effects of panning- we can catch the "orphaned instrument" syndrome when something has ended up sounding like it's stuck in the corner like a naughty child.

OK--one more note--Noticing the wayward 1st string panning was the least important part of my response to your rich, wonderfully realized piece, Michael.

Re: (Harvester)

Following up on panning and the Aria player, do you recommend leaving the default pan positions for each instrument alone, or nearly alone, as a way of keeping things in the ball-park, at least initially?
Thanks,sd cisco